Heel-shaping machine



Nov; 3, 1925. 1,559,610

' N. GULLIFORD HEEL SHAPING MAcHIfiE Filed Jan. 8. 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet l Nov. 3, 1925. N. L. GULLIFQRD' HEEL SHAPING MACHINE Filed Jan. 8. 1924 Sheets-Sheet 2 lnven'ari Nov. 3, 1925- 9- N. GULLIFORD HEEL SHAPING MACHINE Filed Jam. 8- 1 2 s Sheets-Sheet 5 inn/ lulu Patented Nov. 3, 1925;

UNITED STATES.

PATENT oFFIC E. I

' HEEL-SHAPING MACHINE.

Application filed January 8, 1924. Seria1- No. 684,945. I

To all whom it may concern- Be it known that I, NICHOLAS L. GrULLI-v FORD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Peabody, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Heel- Shaping Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to machines for shaping wood heels and particularly to ma;- chines of this class which operate upon the breast portion of .the heel.

Wood heels, particularly wood heels for womens shoes, have the breast portion at the top of the heel reduced to a thin lip to meet the requirements in the manufacture of shoes of this kind, and. in my United States Patent No. 1,433,002, dated October 24, 1922, is shown and described a machine for operating upon the breast portions of wood-heels to finally shape this thin lip. My present invention has for its object to provide an improved machine of this type and it consists of a wood heel shaping machine of the character described having the peculiar features of construction .and mode of operation hereinafter set forth, the novel features of the invention being particularly pointed out and defined in the claims at the closeof the description.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a sideelevation of a wood heel shaping machine constructed in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the machine shown in Fig. 1.

Figure-3 is a section on line 3-3 of.

' Fig. 2.

Figure 4 1s a top plan view of the machine shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Figure 5 is a section on line -55 of Fig. 1.

Figure 6 is a detail hereinafter described.

Figures 7 8 and 9, respectively, are edge, front and rear elevations of one of the blades of the cutter head hereinafter described.

Figure 10,is a section on line 101 O of Fig. 5. v

The frame of my improved machine, as herein constructed, comprises a pedestal 1 supporting a head 2 made with bearings 3, 3 in which is journaled the cutter carrying shaft 4, said shaft carrying a. pulley 5 by means of which it is l'felt driven.

At one end thereof the shaft 4 has fixed upon it a cutter headfi similar to the cutter head of thelmachine shown and described in my patent above referred to, and provided with cutting blades '7. Each. blade 7 has its ends beveled and sharpened to provide a cutting edge 8 which extends from the pointw, Fig. 9, around the end of the blade to the point y. Thus the head 6 is in effect an internal cutter head, the .heelbeing presented thereto as shown in Figs. 1 and 8, with its shank lip 10 occupying a position between the traveling cutters 7 and the axis of shaft 4 about which they rotate. I To present the work properly to the cutter head 6 I have provided a work support 11 having its lower end pivotally connected by trunnions 12, 12 to. an intermediate member 13 which, in turn, is pivotally connected by trunnions 14, 14 to a yoke 15, said yoke being made with a hollow ortubulardepending threaded stem 16 carrying a nut 17 that rests upon the lower arm of a yoke-like bracket 18 secured to pedestal 1. The stem 16 passes loosely through holes in the arms of bracket 18 by which latter it is supported in upright position. ,As will be clear, the nut 17 not only supports the yoke 15 and holder 11 but also provides-means by which the latter can be adjusted vertically to posi-' tion the same according to the size and style The intermediate extending through a slot formed in the shank of the jaw, with provision for adjustment of said 'ja'w to position it accord ing to the size of heel being operated upon. The jaw 21 is secured to a slide 23by means of a screw 24 extending through a. slot, in the shank of said jaw so as to provide for adjustment thereof toward and from the other jaw-accordingto the size of heel to be operated upon This slide 23 is mounted in ways providedon holderll and is made with a rack 24'engaged by a pinion 25 that is in mesh with another rack 26 also mounted in ways'on the holder 11. Therack 26 is secured to the upper end of a rod 27 whose lower end is connected by a turnbuckle 28 with another rod 29. This lower rod 29 extends through a hole in the inter- -mediate member or block 13, and also through the hollow stem 16, and has its lower end connected with a foot treadle 30.

A spring 31, Fig. 5, yieldingly urges the rod 7 27 upwardly and, through the racks 24 and 26 and pinion 25, serves to normally hold the jaw 21 in its open position. Depression of the treadle by the operator acts .through the connections just described to move the jaw 21 inwardly and cause it to clamp the work against the fixed jaw 20, it being understood that the work is thus held by the jaws while being operated'upon by the cutter head.

A handle 47 projecting from the holder .11 affords a convenient means by which the same'may be manipulated and the screw 52 each shank 33 is made with a depending lug formed withan aperture through which an adjusting screw 35 extends, said screw carrying collars 36, one at each side of said lug. The inner end of each screw 35 occupies a threaded hole in the bracket 34 so that said screw not only serves to hold its stop rail immovable but by rotating the screw the stop rail may be adjusted toward and from the holder 11 when necessary. These stop rails 32 may be positioned so as to hold the work holder 11 against sidewise movement, leaving it free to be moved only toward and from the cutter head, or

they may be positioned to permit the work holder to be swung sidewise to a limited and definite extent. Swinging movementof the holder 11 on trunnions 12; toward the cutter head '6, is limited by air-adjustable stop 36 herein shown as a screw mounted on holder 11 and engaging a vertical flat A surface 37 on bracket 34 that is perpendicularato the axes of the trunnions 14 so that when'the holder is swung sidewise the inner end of screw 36' isfree to slide on this surface without disturbing the position of the holder on the trunnions 12. Alock nut"38 holds the stop screw 36 in adjusted .position. Movement of holder 11 on trunnions 12 away from the cutter head 6 is limited by a stop 39'adjustably secured to the outer end of one of the rails 32.

The top of a wood heel is concaved as indicated by the dotted line 40, Fig. 8, to fit the convex heel seat on the shoe to which the heel is applied, and the bottom side (the upper side in Fig. 8) of the breast lip 10 of the heel is transversely convex, and made so by the rotating cutters 7, to correspond with the transversely convex shape of the shank of the shoe. The radius of this curved surface of the breast lip 10 vanies with heels of different widths or sizes and therefore, when operating upon aheel of the widest size, the stops 32 will be set in against the roller 42 so, as to hold the work holder 11 against any movement sidewise on trunnions 14, but .when operating upon heels of narrower sizes the stops 32 will be positioned to permit of limited sidewise movement of holder 11 to an extent inversely proportional to. the width of the heel which, in effect, reduces the radius of the curve of the surface of the lip 10 that is shaped'by the cutters 7.

Actually, sidewise movement of the holder.

11 permits the cutters 7 to remove-more stock from the lip 10 at each side of the median line of the heel than they will remove when the holder 11 is held against sidewise movement and in practice heels shaped by either method appear to have perfectly curved shank lips.

At the top of holder 11 is a pair of upstanding lugs 43 to whichare secured the ends of a bridge piece, or bracket, 44 made near its middle and upon its top side with ways in which is adjustablysecuredan angular bracket 45 whose upright leg or arm is made with ways in which is adjustably secureda heel positioning gauge 46. When a heel is placed upon the top of holder 11 it is shoved forward against the gauge 46 and then the treadle 30 is depressed clamping the heel securely in position. The two clamping jaws20 and 21, when in engagement with the heel, serve to center the lat ter while the gauge 46-positions the heel so as-to determine the extent to which the lip 10 of the heel will pass into the internal cutter head 6. 'The heel, or heel blank, op-

erated upon by my machine may be those that have been previously grooved, as herein illustrated, in which case the cutters operateupon only a portion of the breast and are therefore relatively narrow. If thee'ntire breast of the heel, or heel blank, is to be shaped by the machine, then of course the blades 7 will be made wider and appropriately shaped.

bridge piece 44 provides means by which the bracket 45 may be accurately adjusted and co-operates with a screw 51 to hold said bracket in adjusted position,'while a screw 50 holds the gauge 46 in position with provision for vertical adjustment thereof.

Two screws 55 mounted in threaded aper- A screw 49 s'wivelly mounted on the H tures or holes in two lugs on yoke 15 at .a heel is held and positioned on .the work 6 opposite sides of the latter serve to hold the yoke 15 against rotating when nut 17 is rotated. v I

A feature of the gauge 46 is that it provides a flat heel-engaging and positioning surface that is perpendicular to the, axis of the cutter head so'that when the breast of the heel near the tread end thereof, is placed against the same, the median line of the heel is positioned cutter head.

While I have herein shown and described an internal cutter head made with metal cutting blades, it is to be understood that it has been common practice in this art to shape wood heel blanks both by means of bladed cutter heads and also by means of sand coated cutter heads or wheels, and for this reason I would have it understood as being within the scope of my invention to employ an internal cutter head of either head when the work holder is swung toward the latter.

'2. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a rotatable in ternal cutter head; a work holder disposed crosswise of the axis of said head and pivotally supported at one side of said axis with provision for universal movement laterally, and a heelholding clamp on said work holder by which a heel is held and positioned on the work holder so that its shank,

lip is caused to enter said internal cutter head when the work holder is swung toward the latter.

3. In a machine of the character described the combination of arotatableinternal cutterhead; a pivotally supported work holder movable universally-in a horizontal plane, and a heel holding clamp on said work holder by which a heel is held and positioned upon the work holder so that its shank lip is caused to enterandbe ,operscribed, the combination of a rotatable in-- ated upon by said internal cutter head when the work holder is moved toward the latter.

4. In a machine of the character deternal cutter head; a work holder movable toward and from said cutter head; a heel holding clamp on said work holder by which parallel to the axis of the holder so that its shank lip is caused to enter said internal cutter head when the work holder is moved toward the latter, and

a gauge abutment on said work holder to engage the breast portion of the heel and assist in positioning the latter upon the work holder.

5. In a machine of the .character described, the combination of. an upstanding work holder supported at its lower end by a universal joint; side stops for limiting the sidewise movements of said work holder; a stop for limiting the movement of. said holder toward said cutter head, and a work holding clamp on said work holder.

6. In a" machine of the character described, the combination of an upstanding work holder supported at its lower end by a universal joint; side stops for limiting the sidewise movements of said holder; a stop for limiting the movement of said holder toward said cutter head; a work holding clamp on said work holder, and a gau e abutment on said work holder adjacent sald clamp to engage the breast portion of the heel and assist in the work holder.

7. A machine of the character described comprising a frame; a shaft journaled on said frame; an internal cutter head fast on saidshaft; a work holder pivotally connected with and supported by said frame at a point off-set at one side of said shaft so as to swing sidewise transversely with relation to the axis of the latter and also lengthwise of said axis toward and from said outter head; means for clamping a heel immovably in position upon said work holder so that its shank lip enters said internal cutter head when vsaid work holder is swung positioning the latter on toward the latter, and stops limiting the' sidewise movements of said work holder soas to determine the curvature or shape imparted to the shank lip of the'heel by said cutter head. v w

8. In a machine of the character de; scribed, the combination of a rotatable cutter head; a work holder disposed cross-wise of the axis of said head and pivotally supported at a point off-set atone side of said axis so that one end of said holder is movable toward and from the cutter head; a

work holding clamp on said work holder,

by which thework is held and positionedon the work holder whereby the shank lip formed thereon is caused to enter said internalcutter head when the work holder is swung toward the latter, and a stop to limit the movement of the work holder toward the 25 cutter head.

Intestimony whereof I have atfixed my signature. Y

NICHOLAS L. GULLIFORD. 

